Sunday 31 January 2010

Donations from St. Michael’s to Charitable Causes

Donations from tea and coffee amounted to £74. This was made up to £100 by an
anonymous donation and divided equally between “Many Tears” cat and dog charity
and “Cyprus Donkeys”.
We continue to support Monk Elias in his excellent work; the Archdiocese and the
Deanery.
£200 each have been sent to:
The Donna Louise Trust for very sick children;
St. Elisabeth Monastery, Minsk, for work
amongst all ages and conditions;
“ARCH” for their work in Stoke on Trent with
the homeless and abused;
A Romanian Monastery for work with orphans;
Lebanon for the needs of those still suffering
through aggression;
The Society for the Protection of the Unborn
Child (SPUC).
“Freely ye have received … freely give!”
Thanks be to God for His great provision and mercy to us all.

The Great Fast

Do not concentrate so much on your “belly” that you forget your “heart” and don’t
forget to rein in the “tongue”.
Faithful fasting should be accompanied by much prayer and generous giving to those
in need.
“Much prayer” is made easier by the extra services in church. These services are of
great beauty and lead us into thanksgiving and repentance and so a closer
relationship with God. Most of our congregation miss many, if not all, of these
services and so deprive themselves of blessing.
We are surrounded by very desperate need, brought closer through television and
other media, and so “giving” should be really easy.